Great Hexpectations, A Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy

by H. P. Mallory

  “Dia, you can crash at my house if you don’t want to make the drive home,” I suggested.

  Dia looked at me and raised one eyebrow before facing Knight and giving him a flirtatious smile. “Girl, the only house I’m crashing at tonight is the sexy Loki’s, otherwise, I’m driving my bootylicious self back home.”

  “Is that an invitation?” Knight asked with a grin.

  “Honey, I’ve lost track of how many invitations I’ve sent your way. Just goes to show that you’ve got too much fairy on your mind.”

  Knight glanced at me and nodded. “You could say that.”

  “Oh, God, let’s go,” I said, feeling entirely uncomfortable with all the sexual innuendo.

  Knight chuckled as he walked around to the driver’s seat. Sam opened the rear door, pushing Trey out of the way so she could fit beside him. Before I could take a seat, Dia grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to her, leaning in to whisper: “Girl, you make your damned move on that fine man or you are seriously gonna upset my inner diva.”

  “I wouldn’t want to do that.”

  “No, you sure as hell wouldn’t. I know you’re a smart girl, Dulcie O’Neil, so you make a play on that man before he comes to his senses and realizes I’m waiting in the wings.” Then she winked.

  I laughed and said nothing more, but gave her a knowing smile when she cocked her eyebrow at me again. After hugging me and saying goodbye, she started for her red Ford Mustang. She got into the driver’s seat, gunned the engine and with the radio blaring, disappeared into the darkness of Splendor’s city center.

  I faced Knight’s BMW again and seated myself, glancing over at him as I did so. He was watching me with a curious look on his face.

  “Don’t tell me you have stellar hearing ability too?” I grumbled.

  He smiled and turned on the engine. “Okay, I won’t tell you.” Then he motioned to my door, which was still wide open. “Ready?”

  I didn’t respond but closed the door and looked back at Sam who was already draped over Trey’s shoulder and sound asleep despite his snoring—something that sounded like a cross between a vacuum struggling with pennies and a chainsaw biting steel. If Trey ever managed to land a girlfriend, I’d be amazed.

  “Did you have fun tonight?” Knight asked with a boyish expression.

  I smiled, thinking about the evening. I had had fun at times and then there had been that whole Jack situation which hadn’t been fun. But, all in all, I actually felt good about it—it was almost like I now had closure; like somehow I’d had the last word. And that had all been due to Knight.

  “I did, thank you again.”

  “So seeing your ex didn’t ruin the evening, I hope?” Knight continued. “If I’d known that was going to happen, I’d have just stuck with dinner and drinks.”

  “Ah, so your Loki powers don’t include seeing the future?”

  Knight chuckled. “Can’t say that they do.” He stopped at a red light and faced me, losing his smile. “Answer my question, Dulce, is everything okay?”

  I sighed as I considered it. Was I okay? Somehow, I felt numb to the whole thing—indifferent even. “Yeah,” I said and nodded, almost in surprise at my own admission. “Seeing Jack really wasn’t that terrible. I mean, sure I would have preferred not to have seen him, but I’m…okay.”

  “Good, I was worried.”

  “Don’t be worried. I’m good.”

  Knight chuckled. “Maybe that’s because you find yourself attracted to a particular Loki?”

  I remembered Dia’s parting words about pursuing Knight. The truth of the matter was that I was attracted to Knight, and always had been. Maybe I just needed to run with it, abandon myself. Dulcie O’Neil never abandoned herself to anything and maybe tonight was the night to change that. “That could be why.”

  Knight didn’t say anything but continued beaming as if that was really all he wanted to hear—the fact that I was into him. Well, I was into him. On overload.

  Before I knew it, we pulled up to Trey’s house and Knight threw me a disarming grin as he put the car in park and undid his seatbelt. “I’ll just be a minute.”

  He stepped out and opened Trey’s door, pulling the smaller and fatter man into his arms. Then he lugged Trey over his shoulder and started for the front door. I glanced back at Sam and noticed she was awake and I suddenly wondered how much of Knight’s and my conversation she’d overheard.

  “Are we home yet?” she asked groggily.

  “Nope, not yet,” I started and not wanting her to get any ideas, added: “and you’re staying at your house tonight.”

  Apparently she wasn’t too drunk to get my gist. “Wow, Dulce, you planning on scoring?”

  I nodded as I thought about it. “Maybe.”

  Sam giggled but quieted once Knight resumed his place behind the wheel. “One down, two to go.”

  Five minutes later, we reached Sam’s house and with a quick hug and wink, Sam was safely inside and it was just Knight and me. We drove the ten minutes to my place in silence, just listening to the mindless chatter of the DJ. When Knight pulled in front of my apartment, I suddenly felt nervous, my heartbeat pounding in my chest as my palms went clammy.

  “Here we are, Dulce,” he said as he put the car in park.

  I nodded and it seemed it took me an eternity to undo my seatbelt and grasp the handles of my purse. I opened the door and was about to step out when I thought better of it.

  “Do you, uh, do you want to come in?” Holy Hades, I hadn’t meant to sound so schoolgirl embarrassed.

  Knight’s smile was wide as he shook his head. “Not when you’re drunk.”

  I felt something crumble inside me. I’m not good at putting myself out there and even less good when it comes to dealing with rejection. “Drunk? I’m really not that drunk,” I said even though I could hear the doubt in my own voice.

  “When something happens between you and me, it will be because you want it to happen. Not because you’re under the influence of alcohol or something else.”

  I could read into the “something else” he was referring to—Mandrake, an illegal narcotic I’d had the displeasure of becoming addicted to during our last case with the Dreamstalker. And, yes, I’d come onto Knight at the time and, yes, he’d denied me…so this was now denial number two.

  “I don’t know what to think when you play the part of a gentleman,” I said with a quick smile, not exactly sure how I felt about the turn of events. He didn’t want to come in and have sex with me but his reasons were admirable…somehow I was okay with that. More than okay with it, actually. I respected him because of it.

  “I’m a good guy, Dulcie. One of these days you’re going to realize that and when you do, things are going to be very good between us.”

  There really wasn’t anything more to say so I stood up, thinking about retiring to my bed. Then it suddenly dawned on me that I’d forgotten the whole reason I’d agreed to go on this date in the first place.

  “So our date is over, what’s with the glowing eyes bit?”

  Knight chuckled and shook his head. “The date’s not over.”

  I threw my hands on my hips. If there’s something I hate more than anything else, it’s playing games. “Knight, the date is over. You’re dropping me off and going home. You said at the end of our date you would tell me.”

  He nodded. “Right, and it’s not the end of our date.”

  I sighed deeply. “So when will the end of our date be?”

  He shrugged. “I’m picking you up tomorrow morning at nine a.m. sharp so don’t oversleep. Oh, and dress in your riding gear.”

  “What?” I demanded. “What riding gear?”

  “We’re going to take a little joy ride,” he answered as I realized he meant my motorcycle riding gear. Yep, I must have been pretty drunk because it wasn’t like I was a horse enthusiast...

  “You don’t have a bike?” I asked, feeling the cloud of alcohol starting to descend on my mind. I was tired and I’d have a mean han
gover in the morning. Good thing for me that I could heal it with a little fairy dust.

  Knight shook his head, still beaming up at me. “Don’t worry about it. Now, before you let all the warm air out of my car, let’s go.”

  “Let’s,” I started. “I thought you weren’t coming in?”

  He opened his car door and closed it behind him at the same time I did. “It’s impolite not to walk a beautiful woman to her door, Dulcie. And, furthermore, it’s even more impolite not to ensure that beautiful woman’s apartment is safe.”

  “You’re really taking this gentleman stuff to extremes,” I said with the beginnings of a small smile that revealed the fact that I liked it when he played this part.

  He glanced at me and winked. “Maybe that’s because I am a gentleman?”

  I scoffed. “Hardly.”

  We reached my front door and I pulled my key out. Once I’d opened the door, Knight sidestepped me and pushed the door wide. As he walked into the living room, the lights came on and it wasn’t like he’d clapped to activate my nonexistent clapper. Nope, this was just another of his Loki abilities…

  I followed him into the apartment and closed the door behind me, watching him disappear down the hallway and, I imagine, into my bedroom where he could play the part of protector to ensure no one was hiding out. My yellow Labrador, Blue, pawed at the sliding glass door, wanting to be let in.

  “Just a second, boy,” I called out, my attention momentarily arrested by the sight of Knight in the hallway.

  “All good?” I asked.

  “All good, Dulce.”

  I nodded and suddenly felt the incredible desire to kiss him. But I didn’t act on my impulse because I wasn’t sure how he’d take it and I really wasn’t in the mood for denial number three.

  He started for the door and paused with his hand on the doorknob, turning to face me. “Goodnight, Dulcie. Remember tomorrow morning at nine a.m. sharp.”

  I didn’t say anything but merely nodded and watched him as he smiled again and ducked out of the door, jogging down my front walkway to his Beemer. I waved to him and watched his sports car disappear down the street before I remembered to let Blue back in.

  #

  Knight, as usual, was true to his word. The next morning he appeared on my doorstep right at nine a.m. At the sound of the doorbell, I pulled open the door and found him dressed in head to toe riding gear—black with grey etching. The leather clutched his thighs like a second skin and the riding jacket just accentuated his already incredibly broad shoulders. He smiled down at me, gripping his helmet in his hand.

  “Love a woman in leather,” he said, shaking his head.

  I glanced down at myself and took in my black leather pants and long-sleeved black cotton t-shirt. My riding jacket was still hanging behind the door.

  “So where’s your ride?”

  Knight stepped aside with a knowing grin and I immediately noticed the sparkling black motorcycle sitting in front of my house.

  I sighed—it was all I could think to do. Whatever Knight did, it was always to the utmost. He just didn’t seem happy with mediocrity. “Since when do you like motorcycles?”

  Knight smiled boyishly. “Since you started riding one. Figured I needed to keep up with you.”

  The only reason I’d purchased a bike was due to the fact that my Jeep Wrangler had been totaled in the situation with the Dreamstalker and I couldn’t afford anything other than a motorcycle. My owning one was due to an economical need, not a need for speed. Apparently, the same couldn’t be said for the Loki.

  “Okay, so what is it?” I asked and offered him an encouraging smile. I mean…it WAS a beautiful bike.

  He glanced behind him and grinned like a new parent. “Ducati Superbike 1198.”

  “Okay, you realize there is no way in hell I’m going to be able to keep up with you on that?” My bike, a Suzuki DL 650, paled in comparison. To begin with, my Suzuki was about half the size of Knight’s Ducati.

  Knight didn’t say anything but smiled again—one of those “I know something you don’t know” smirks and fished inside his jacket pocket. Then he handed me a key.

  “What’s this?” I demanded.

  “The key to your new bike.”

  “What?” I started, in shock, first glancing at the key and then Knight’s smug face. “You bought me a motorcycle?”

  He shook his head. “The ANC did. You can’t hope to work on Netherworld cases on a bike that may or may not get you where you need to go.” His smile deepened. “Think of this like a company car…only it’s a company bike.”

  “It’s true what they say,” I started.

  “And what do they say?”

  “That the people highest up in a company take the most advantage,” I finished with a self-impressed smile.

  Knight frowned and with the slope of his shoulders, looked disappointed. “You can accept the mode of transportation provided by the Netherworld or you can choose to ride your own bike, it’s up to you.” He paused a moment or two. “But, you might at least want to see it.”

  I shrugged and he must have taken it as a sign of interest because he turned around and started down my entryway, pausing just beyond the edge of my building. I followed him and that was when I saw it. Sitting a few feet in front of his bike was a smaller one, just as sporty and dangerous but instead of a shiny black, this was deep crimson. And, yes, it was gorgeous.

  “What is it?” I asked, in awe.

  Knight chuckled, the tone of his laugh victorious. “Ducati Diavel.”

  I swallowed hard before facing him again and couldn’t deny the fact that I was always impressed with Knight’s antics. He definitely wasn’t predictable. “How did you manage to get them both here?”

  Knight laughed. “Leave it to you to ask the logistics questions. The dealer dropped yours off this morning.” He extended his hand. “Do you want to see it?”

  I just nodded and took his hand as he led me outside and, instantly, I was in love. Um, with the bike. It was sleek, with lines that were so sharp, it looked like it could cut you just by sitting on it.

  “Wow,” I muttered as Knight chuckled.

  “You approve?”

  I gulped down my excitement. “Um, it’s beautiful, thank you.” Suddenly remembering myself, I glanced up at him. “I’m not giving up my bike,” I added with a determined expression. “I’ll use this for work-related business only.” He frowned and I continued. “If it’s a company bike, it should be used for company business.”

  Knight shrugged. “I guess that’s fair enough.” He paused and then a huge smile lit up his face. “Well, this visit is work-related.”

  “Work-related?” I repeated dubiously, crossing my arms against my chest.

  He nodded. “We have lots to discuss. Once we get to where we’re going, that is.”

  “And where would that be?”

  Knight didn’t answer but put his helmet on and started for his bike. I was left with no choice but to follow him. I grabbed my helmet from the chair by my door and locked the door behind me, feeling a little hesitant and unsure about the new motorcycle. Maybe it was too much bike for me?

  “That’s for me to know and you to find out,” he said with a wicked grin as he mounted his bike.

  And damn it if he didn’t look like a wet dream come to life. “It’s going to take me a little while to get used to it,” I started, still feeling overwhelmed.

  He nodded. “I’ll go slow.” And the wicked smile on his lips told me that was a double entendre if ever I’d heard one.

  I didn’t respond but mounted the bike and putting the key in the ignition, turned it on. The power of the engine was obvious in the way it purred beneath me. This was going to be one hell of a ride. Hopefully I’d arrive in one piece.

  “Ready?” Knight called as he peeled into the street and circled, coming up beside me. I could smell the rubber of his tires.

  “Show off,” I muttered.

  “Come on, Dulce, show me what yo
u’ve got.”

  And he was already down the road. I glanced at the bike beneath me and shook my head. What other choice did I have? I revved the engine, said a silent prayer that I wouldn’t kill myself and gunned it.

  I met Knight at the end of the street. He smiled at me and took a right so I followed him, speeding to keep up with him. I caught him at the next stop sign.

  “Didn’t you say something about going slow?” I yelled.

  He shook his head. “I wasn’t talking about driving.”

  He gunned the engine, disappearing around a bend in the road as I fought to catch up with him. I wasn’t sure if my bike was as powerful as his—it definitely wasn’t as big so maybe the power wasn’t quite there either. Or maybe I was just making excuses.

  Knight paused at the base of Highway Seven, which led up to Giant’s Gorge, a canyon with lots of twists and turns—the perfect course for a bike ride. He glanced back at me and smiled, taking off before I had the chance to discuss our route. This time I wasn’t as reserved. I peeled into the street and easily caught up with him.

  For the next ten miles, we rode alongside one another, taking the twists and turns of the road as they came. And I had to admit that the Ducati was an amazing ride—it was incredibly fast and powerful.

  We reached the top of the canyon and the paved road became dirt. Knight pulled into the large, flat open space and killed his engine, standing up as he removed his helmet. I followed suit and took my jacket off. I draped the jacket over the bike and left my helmet on the seat as I approached Knight and lost myself in the beauty of the view from Giant’s Gorge. We were so high, I could see the town of Splendor below us, the cars and people appearing as tiny as ants, busily being busy.

  “How do you like the bike?” he asked.

  I glanced at him and inhaled deeply. I couldn’t help it. Knight is a gorgeous guy but something about him clad in leather, standing next to an incredible street bike was almost too much for me to handle.

  “It was really something,” I said, forgetting what I was talking about.